Sound Off for Sunday, Feb. 23: Readers debate blame for job losses

On jobs: American TV closing, a mattress factory closes in Whitewater, and Penney's is closing stores. I wonder if Gov. Walker is deducting all those job losses against his claim of job gains. Looks like 250,000 jobs are just a mirage.

-- The Obama administration would have us believe the economy is getting better. In addition to Penney's closing, now American TV is closing. In Wisconsin and all over the country, there are more job losses, more people working part time and more who have given up looking for jobs. Are we to believe what they tell us or what we see with our own eyes?

On gas station: Another gas station on Janesville's south side. That's all we ever get is gas stations and bars. Can't we ever get anything nice on Janesville's south side?

On tax refund: Remember when former Gov. Thompson sent you a so-called “it's your money” tax refund in October 1997, then two years later he joined George W. Bush in Washington and left the state with red ink? It's not Gov. Doyle's fault we remain in debt. I hope Scott Walker doesn't pull the same shenanigans as Thompson.

On sports coverage: You had two pictures of Frank Kaminsky of the Badgers in the same paper. A couple of weeks ago, three pictures of the Brodhead girls, one on the front page and two in sports. I would think there are other sports going on that you could derive pictures from instead of giving too much publicity to the Brodhead girls and Kaminsky.

-- On Wednesday morning, I picked up The Gazette to take a look at the sports page to see what some of the college basketball teams did. Guess what, not one single sentence on what any college basketball team did. Why do I even take this Gazette?

On helping homeless students: I'm really touched, and I give a lot of kudos to the people who are doing Project 16:49. There are a lot of kids out there who need help.

On clearing sewer drains: When we have impending rain in February after a rough winter like this, why isn't the city all over the newspaper, radio and television asking residents to dig open all storm drains? Unfortunately, people aren't smart enough to do it on their own, but they will do it if asked.

On Chinese education: I hardly think it makes sense to have these Chinese students coming over here when China is ranked so much higher than we are in education.

On Watson plan: Regarding Wednesday's headline “Watson: Pit isn't priority,” he's doing his tap dance again. I've been through that. I'm a Judge Judy fan, and I don't think this passes the smell test. He comments it's going to be used as leverage if it doesn't work out. We're talking again about “if.”

-- Bill Watson says mining is not profitable and he needs zoning to allow mining for its value to investment bankers to get bailed out if the project doesn't work. So is it profitable or not? Get him to say it will never be mined. With rail access, selling aggregate to the Interstate expansion is minuscule compared to what could be sold to Chicago and Minneapolis.

On minimum wage: The Congressional Budget Office releases a report that's devastating to Democrats, saying we'd lose workers, and we get a story (Page 1A, Wednesday) saying it's good and bad. How is it good? Well, because people on the bottom will make more money. But the cost of everything will go up so their money will not buy more. It will go up for the rest of us, too.

On good Samaritans: I had a flat tire out on Highway 14, and this car stopped behind me. Two men got out and said they would fix my tire. I couldn't believe it when they did and didn't want to take any money. It was just so wonderful of them to help me.

On John Doe investigation: Jim Doyle was governor for two terms, and I don't remember his office being raided. I don't remember every one of his aides getting an exam. Could anyone explain to me how this is not 100 percent a political witch hunt?

-- Regarding Thursday's front-page story, once again we have a misleading headline. After spending years and taxpayer money on a political witch hunt, they have nothing. If they did the same investigation into Tom Barrett or Jim Doyle or any other administration in this country, they could charge the exact same indictment. This is political business as usual.

On car chase: In response to comments in Sound Off, the owner of the car that was left running in the driveway is not to blame. Anytime someone takes something from your property, it's their fault not yours. With the kind of cold we've had, everybody warms their car up and no one thinks about locking their door because its on their own property.